Monday, August 17, 2009

I ordered Serenity the Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Mini Dollhouse ($35.93 & free s/h w/Prime) from Amazon last week and it arrived today. I was looking for a small, quality wooden dollhouse to take with us when we visit friends and family in Mississippi and on vacation trips.

Serenity loves it! She immediately started making up tasks for the dolls to do. She talks to the dolls and creates stories for them - all out loud. It's so funny to listen in! She's even named the dolls - Princess and Boy! Funny! And a little amazing too, since before today all her dolls were named Baby. It's so neat to see how much she changes day to day and how each day her comprehension grows.

She's telling Princess to say "cheese"!

I love that the dolls are the perfect size for her little hands. They are somewhat posable too - their arms move and their legs bend so they can sit and it's easy enough for her to pose the dolls by herself. It comes with 11 pieces of wooden furniture - plenty to keep her busy making up all kinds of activities for her dolls to do!

She's giggling her little butt off 'cause she made Boy sit on the potty!

The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of a latch on the outside of the dollhouse. It's hard for Serenity to carry it without everything falling out. AND if you're traveling with it, you'd have to make sure it doesn't fall over and the pieces get lost. I'll probably buy a tiny latch and install it myself to take care of the problem.

But overall, it's a great toy that will probably last a long time. I didn't want another piece of plastic that only lasts about a minute before it's ready for the trash and does nothing to inspire Serenity's imagination.

I've been checking out M&D's Folding Castle ($62.64 & free s/h w/Prime) for maybe Serenity's birthday. This is something that will last well beyond her toddler years - I love a toy that will be durable enough to handle years of serious play. This castle is big. It's 3 feet long when it folds out! The reviews on Amazon full of praise for this toy - it has an unbelievable 5 star rating! It has matching furniture and Royal Family dolls that's sold separately. And shouldn't every castle have a dragon?

Who Am I?

I'm a stay-at-home crafting Mommy. My beautiful daughter Serenity is my Muse and Model for most of what I do on my blog. I love learning how to create new stuff, sew, embroidery, taking (and learning to Photoshop) pictures, doing kid's product reviews, and finding interesting things on the internet other people blog about, create, sell or do all three!

All of my tutorials are for your personal use only!
If you use any of my tutorials, I would appreciate a link back to either my blog or the tutorial please!
Some of my tutorials are pretty simple and can be found elsewhere online, but some of them are my original ideas and techniques.
I have no problem sharing how I did something, but I think it's only fair that I be given full credit for it considering the time and effort it took me to put together a picture tutorial.
Besides, it's just plain dishonest to steal other people's ideas and claim them as your own.
I always try to give full credit to all the creative blogs and people who inspire me - you can see evidence of this all over my blog!
I only ask for the same curtsy in return.